CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Given “Neutral” Rating at Guggenheim

Guggenheim reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a $69.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on CMS Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Mizuho lowered CMS Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $76.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CMS Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.15.

CMS Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CMS stock opened at $68.69 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.89. CMS Energy has a 1 year low of $55.10 and a 1 year high of $72.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market cap of $20.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.42.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 13.35%. On average, research analysts predict that CMS Energy will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.5425 per share. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. This is a positive change from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.36%.

Insider Activity

In other CMS Energy news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.17, for a total transaction of $136,340.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 64,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,415,439.07. The trade was a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John G. Russell sold 28,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.85, for a total value of $1,893,187.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 144,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,486,285.15. The trade was a 16.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,686 shares of company stock valued at $2,228,084 over the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CMS Energy by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 94,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,445 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its stake in CMS Energy by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 47,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,159,000 after buying an additional 1,182 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in CMS Energy by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 78,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,207,000 after buying an additional 6,572 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 2,900.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

CMS Energy Company Profile

CMS Energy Corporation operates as an energy company primarily in Michigan. The company operates through three segments: Electric Utility; Gas Utility; and Enterprises. The Electric Utility segment is involved in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. This segment generates electricity through coal, wind, gas, renewable energy, oil, and nuclear sources.